Abstract
What is already known on this topic? Due to shifting circumstances in China, the government has adjusted the child-bearing policy to allow couples to have a second child. This has affected the total number of live births, especially in more developed urban areas. What is added by this report? The total number of live births in the 4 monitoring cities including Chengdu, Wuhan, Shenzhen, and Beijing during 2014-2019 increased by 33.0%, 20.3%, 10.7%, and 8.2%, respectively. From 2014 to 2017, the proportion of total live births that were policy related increased in each city: Chengdu (2.0% to 35.0%), Wuhan (1.0% to 25.1%), Shenzhen (0.6% to 39.4%), and Beijing (3.1% to 30.2%). What are the implications for public health practice? Our results showed that the implementation of the new adjusted family planning policy alleviated the downward trends in total live births and is unlikely to lead a baby boom as estimated by previous studies.